I Wait Here
by Remir
Summary: What really happened during the testing of Unit 04 in Nevada?


**Author's Note:** I do not own NGE, but it'd be nice if I did. Also, I do not own the song, which is Stirbt nicht vor mir, by Rammstein. But again, it would be pretty cool if I did.

**Neon Genesis Evangelion: I Wait Here**

"It's so beautiful." the young girl said as she stared up at the night sky.

"Yes, it is." the young man said as he laid down beside her.

"Aren't you supposed to say, 'but not as beautiful as you?'" she teased as she looked back down at him.

"I could, but I doubt you'd fall for that again." he replied, a smile spread across his face.

"Who knows, third time's the charm they say." she said, leaning over towards him.

"Is it now?" he asked before leaning up to kiss her. Their lips met for a moment, the electricity of from it enough for them both to draw back for a moment before leaning in to kiss again.

"Harris." she said as she drew back, "Thanks for bringing me out here tonight."

"Of course." Harris said as he stared at the water in front of them. "I'm glad you could come tonight, Ana."

She smiled before leaning in to kiss him again, letting out a sigh as she let his tongue begin to roam inside her mouth.

It had been a spur of the moment date. He had called her up earlier that day after he got off work and asked her if she wanted to go to the beach. After an hour of begging her mother, she had been allowed to go with him. So off they went in his car to their favorite part of the beach and watched the sun set and talked the hours away.

"I wish you didn't have to go." he said as he pulled away to breath.

"I know, but it'll only be for a week." she whispered.

"I know." Harris replied.

"And you know what's a week away right?"

"How could I forget?" he smiled. "How could I ever forget what next week is?"

She smiled. Next week would be their one year anniversary. Exactly one year ago she had arrived at his school, skipping two grades to match his. The first few days had been hellish from her as she had been unceasingly teased by the older girls. But Harris had stuck up for her and the two had been inseparable ever since. While her mother had originally not approved, eventually she had grown fond of Harris and he had become practically a member of the family.

"Better not get me anything." she said as she stared into his hazel eyes.

"Oh, it's way too late to tell me that." he teased, giving her a playful kiss on the nose.

Letting out a sigh, she turned to look once more at the stars, gazing lazily at it until she spotted her favorite star. "There it is." she whispered as she pointed to it.

Harris followed her hand and found it. "It's so bright." he said in a near whisper.

"Yep, it's so beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you." Harris teased.

"Aw, shut up." she laughed, knocking him down onto the sandy part of the towel they were laying on. Leaning over, she kissed him intently for what seemed like an eternity. They sat there, intertwined, their lips locked as though they were one body, one soul.

A loud beep tore them apart as she pulled away and grabbed her phone. "It's midnight already." she whispered, her voice filled with disappointment.

"Alright, I'll drive you home." Harris said, pulling himself to his feet.

"Just a few more minutes." she pleaded with him.

"We'll have plenty next week." he said, placing an arm on her shoulder before picking up the towel and shaking it clean.

"Harris?" she called.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking up at her.

"I love you."

He smiled, walking over to her and kissing her lightly on the lips. "I love you too."

"You'll wait for me here, won't you?"

Kissing her again, he whispered, "I'll wait here."

-------------------------------------------------------------

"Good morning, Ana." Captain Marcus Deacon said as he greeted the young girl.

"Good morning, Captain." she replied as she pressed the small button on her suit's wrist, allowing the suit to form to her body.

"I trust you had a pleasant flight?"

"Yes, sir. The plane NERV provided was extremely accommodating."

"Good, good." the Captain said as he placed an arm around Ana and led her out of the changing room. "Are you nervous about today at all?"

"A little." she replied as they made their way down to the cages.

"Well, you really shouldn't be. It's going to be just like the synchronization exercises, but it should be a lot easier, especially with how your synch ratio's been the past few times." Deacon said to reassure her.

"Of course."

Stopping at the cage, they were met by Dr. Gregory Thompson.

"I'll take her the rest of the way, if you don't mind, Deacon." he said with a smile.

"By all means, I'll meet you up in the command center." Deacon said, waving the two off as he left.

"How are you today?" Dr. Thompson asked as the two made their way into the inner belly of the NERV-02 base.

"I'm fine." Ana replied weakly as they neared the giant beast she had seen several times before.

The 40 story tall beast stood inside the cage, its armor colored silver with small pieces of it painted red and black. Its head was rounded greatly and its chin stood out. The members of NERV called it Unit 04, but Ana new it as the Evangelion. She had given it another name, but had never told a soul about it, not even Harris.

Helping Ana into the entry plug, Thompson helped to ensure that everything was in-place along the seating and insured that the A 10 nerve clips were situated correctly on her head.

"Now, don't be nervous." he tried to assure her. "This is going to be exactly like the synch tests. All we're going to do is synch you up and turn on the Eva. Once we're sure that everything is working smoothly, we'll shut it off and you'll be done. Alright?"

"Ok." she replied, watching him give her a smile before shutting the hatch. Sitting in the silence of the enclosed space, she sighed as she began to wonder what Harris was doing.

"Is everything ok?" Deacon asked Thompson as he finally appeared on the main bridge.

"Everything looks good. She seems...quite tranquil today." Thompson replied as he stared at one of the consoles showing Ana waiting inside the entry plug.

"Good. How is Unit 04 looking, John?" Deacon asked, turning to one of the men at the consoles.

"All systems appear functional, the S² Engine is ready to be activated." John replied.

"Good. Begin filling the plug with LCL. Charge it as soon as it's completely filled." Deacon said to the woman beside John, Kari.

"Yes, sir." she replied.

"Deacon, are you sure we should be trying to activate the Engine so soon?" Thompson asked, leaning close to Deacon.

"In all honesty, no. But we've been receiving a lot of pressure from both Commander Ikari and NERV-01 to complete production. SEELE doesn't seem too thrilled with the experiment either, but we have our own orders to follow." Deacon replied.

"Entry plug has been completely filled. Charging LCL." Kari called.

"Begin nerve synapse." Thompson called.

"Nerve synapse connection beginning." Murphy replied from beside Kari.

"How are the graph readouts?" Thompson asked.

"Readouts normal."

"Reaching absolute borderline...Passed and rising!"

"Excellent!" Deacon called. Leaning over to the screen where Ana was shown sitting in the cockpit still, he asked her, "How's everything going in there?"

"Just fine." she replied still weakly.

"How is her mental state doing?" Thompson asked.

"All signs show positive."

"Good." Deacon said. "Alright, disconnect external power. Activate the S² Engine."

"External power disconnected. Beginning activation of the S² Engine." John replied.

A loud hum began to emanate from Unit 04 as the S² Engine activated.

"Is that normal?" Deacon asked.

"I don't know, sir. I...Wait! What's going on?!" John screamed.

Looking up, Deacon stared at the Evangelion. "Oh my G—

Inside Unit 04, Ana shot straight up in her seat, her back arching as pain through every part of her body. "What's going on?!" she screamed. Struggling to open her eyes through the pain, she found herself surrounded in darkness.

"Where am I?" she asked, her voice echoing into the nothingness. The pain she had been feeling evaporated, and she stretched out her arms to try to grab hold of something, anythin.

"Ana, is that you?" a voice called.

She froze, her arms still drawn out into the darkness as she recognized the voice. She didn't say anything, afraid that the owner of it would find her.

"I know you're here, I heard you. Now, where are you, you little bitch?" the voice called out angrily.

"Daddy?" she breathed, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.

A figure emerged in the darkness, its eyes glowing brightly as it moved closer to her. "There you are, honey, come on over here. Daddy's had a rough day."

Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head by this comment. "No!" she screamed. She wasn't going to relive that day. She wasn't going to suffer again like she had.

Her father frowned. "You little bitch. I said come over here now!"

"Get away from me!" she screamed, trying to find something to cling to pull herself away from him.

It was no use, there was nothing for her to grasp onto. The form before her, however, seemed to be standing atop some sort of invisible floor as it slowly walked toward her, a bottle of whiskey in its hand.

"Is Daddy going to have to teach you how to respect your elders?" it asked.

"Get away from me! You're not my dad, you're not!" she screamed, still trying desperately to get away.

It was too late, the form came face to face with her, the clear image of her father. "I'll show you who your daddy is." he hissed, the strong smell of alcohol on his breath.

"Get away!" she screamed, planting her foot strongly into his stomach.

"Why you little brat!" he spat as he fell back. Jumping up, he grabbed her foot, dragging her over to him. "You'll pay, just like your bitch of a mother did!" Grabbing her other leg, he brought her close to him before ripping away her suit as though it were paper. "You're going to learn, just like she did." he hissed as he completely exposed her body.

"No, no! Get away from me!" she screamed as she tried to fight him off.

"It's too late to try to apologize." he said as he began to unbuckle his pants.

"No!" she screamed, squeezing her eyes tight as tears forced its way down her cheeks.

There was a long pause, as she awaited the inevitable. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she opened her eyes.

She was lying on a beach, the sun slowly beginning to set. Waves slowly crashed against the shore, and seagulls cried out in the distance.

"Are you alright?" a voice asked her.

Jumping up, she flung herself in Harris's arms, crying loudly as she struggled to overcome the horrible nightmare that had appeared so real moments ago.

"It's alright, shh, everything's fine." he said.

"It was, it was so awful." she screamed between tears, her entire body shaking as she took in the warmth of his body.

"I know." he replied.

"You do?" she asked, slowly trying to stop shaking.

"Of course, I was there beside you the whole time."

"What are you talking about?" she asked as she looked up at him, freezing when she stared into his glowing white eyes. "You...You're..."

"What? Is something wrong?" he asked, a smile creeping across his face.

"Get...Get away from me!" she screamed as she shoved him away. Jumping to her feet she bagan to run down the beach, trying to get away from him.

"I'll wait here." he called to her, laughing maniacally. "I'll wait here for when you get back!"

She kept running, kept running for as long as she could. Kept running until her lungs began to scream for her to stop. Until her gut began to cry out in pain. She couldn't stop, she couldn't look back. She kept running until her legs finally gave out and she fell to the ground, sending sand into her eyes and nostrils.

Feeling lightheaded and dizzy, she closed her eyes as tears continued to stream down her cheeks, causing sand to stick to her skin. She didn't notice this as her entire body shook and her throat let out a long wail in dispair. She had to leave, had to get out of this place.

_Die Nacht öffnet ihren Schoß  
__Das Kind heißt Einsamkeit  
_

She looked up, searching for the voice that seemed to sing such sorrowful words. She was surprised to find herself in a completely different world, staring at a girl about her age with bright blue hair, standing in yellow water that closely resembled LCL.

"Don't you want to become one with me?" the girl asked.

Ana tried to shake her head, tried to tell her no, instead she felt her lips move and say something in a voice unlike hers.

"No. We are not the same. I am me, and you are not." she replied.

"But it is too late. We shall become one. We will share the same mind. Do you feel this? This pain?" the girl asked.

Ana shuddered as she felt the pain the girl was speaking of, but it wasn't pain, it was something else.

"This pain...is different. This pain, is loneliness." she replied.

"Loneliness? Is that what this is called? I don't understand." the girl said.

"You don't want to be alone?" Ana said. "You want to be with others?"

The girl nodded. "This is loneliness. I see it in you. It is your soul. You are filled with this sorrow?"

Ana tried to say no, tried to shake her head, but could find no way to move her head.

_Es ist kalt und regungslos  
Ich weine leise in die Zeit_

The world spun around her for a moment, and she found herself now staring at the side of a table, her head resting on her arm as she listened to a message on the tape recorder. She didn't know why, but she felt as though her whole world was crashing down as she listened to the voice.

"Katsuragi." the voice said. "The truth is with you, you know that. Now please, don't hesitate. It's time to move on."

"You bastard." she heard herself say.

_Ich weiß nicht wie du heißt  
Doch ich weiß dass es dich gibt_

She felt herself drift and found herself standing in a large, dark room. In her hand was a small black device. Another woman stood with her, dressed in a red jacket and a black dress underneath. The room lit up as Ana hit a button on the device, glowing the room in a dark yellow haze.

"What is this?" the woman asked.

Floating behind the glass planes that surrounded the room were dozens of young girls that were, in fact, nude.

"Man discovered a God, and Man, in its foolishness, attempted to make the God his plaything. For that pride, Man was punished. That occurred fifteen years ago. And the God that Man discovered was lost. But Man proceeds to attempt to resurrect the God! And from that God, Adam, Man attempted to create a Man who was like God himself, and that...was Eva." Ana replied.

With the flick of another button, the girls behind the glass let out a loud laugh as they quickly disintegrated into the liquid.

_Ich weiß dass irgendwann  
Irgendwer mich liebt_

The room spun again, and Ana found herself sitting on the floor, listening to the music that was playing in her headphones. Another girl with red hair sat at a table nearby, leaning on her arm as she slouched over the table.

"Hey, Shinji," the girl said suddenly, sitting up her chair.

Taking off her headphones, Ana turned towards the girl. "Yeah?" she asked in a boyish voice.

"Wanna kiss me?"

_He comes to me every night  
No words are left to say_

Standing up, she walked over towards the red headed girl.

"Ready? Here I come." the girl said.

Ana leaned close to her, emotions rushing through her head that she had felt only for other one other person. The girl leaned closer, pausing just as their lips nearly met.

"Stop breathing, your nose is tickling me." the girl said.

Before Ana could say anything, the girl grabbed her nose and squeezed it shut before jutting forward and locking lips with her. She didn't know why, but she enjoyed every moment their lips touched each others.

_With his hands around my neck  
I close my eyes and pass away_

When she tried to open her eyes to look at the red headed girl, she found herself lying once more on the beach. The sky was black, save for the bright moon and the dark red streak across the sky. She tried to move, but quickly found it was no use, ever nerve in her body had shut down. Her left eye was covered by something, and she felt her right arm wrapped tightly in some sort of cloth. Silence ensued throughout this dismal world, save for the soft sound of the crashing waves.

Slowly, movement from her right caught her attention, as a young boy laying next to her sat himself up.

_I don't know who he is  
In my dreams he does exist_

The boy turned to look at her, an emotionless expression stretched across his face. Slowly, he sat himself atop of her and leaned over, his fingertips gently caressing her cheeks. Then, his hands moved down from her cheeks to her neck, the fingertips coiling around the back. Lightly putting pressure on his thumbs, he soon began to squeeze as hard as he could to choke her to death.

She tried to scream, tried to call for help. But no sound would escape from her throat, no reaction could be released from her body.

_His passion is a kiss  
And I can not resist_

Somehow, she found the strength to lift her right arm and bring it to the face of the young boy who was proceeding to strangle her. Touching his cheek gently, she caressed his cheek as though he were her child. Sliding her hand back down to her side, she continued to stare off in space.

The boy released his grip from her, moving his hands to cover his face as he began to cry, Tears fell onto Ana, but she paid them no mind. As the boy slowly curled into a ball atop of her, she finally looked down at him. A feeling washed over her suddenly replacing the fear that had finally died away, and she spoke the first thing that came to her mind. "How disgusting..."

_Ich warte hier  
Don't die before I do_

Ana stared at the water before her, as she stood beside the bank of a large lake. Ruined building littered the water, but the most notable feature protruding from the water was the partially disintegrated body of what looked like a headless Eva.

Someone humming a tune caught her attention, and turning to look, spotted a young boy with platinum colored hair and red eyes sitting atop a small piece of debris sticking out from the water.

_Ich warte hier  
Stirb nicht vor mir_

As she watched the boy, she began to recognize the song he was humming.

"Do you know what this song is?" the boy asked.

"Um, yes, it's Ode to Joy." she replied in the same boyish voice she had spoken what seemed an eternity ago.

"Ode to Joy, yes, it is a fitting name. Music is good. It brings joy to us. It is the greatest creation in the culture that Lilims have created.

_I don't know who you are  
I know that you exist  
Stirb nicht_

Ana found herself sitting in a large bathhouse with the boy, relaxing as the steam from the water made her feel lightheaded.

"You know, pain is something that Man must bear in his heart, and since the heart feels pain so easily some believe living is pain. You are fragile like glass, especially your heart." the young man said to her.

"Am I?" she asked.

"Yes, and worth earning my empathy."

"Your empathy?"

"I'm saying that I love you."

The boy placed his hand atop Ana's, and though she wished to separate herself from his touch, she felt herself strangely drawn to him and didn't want his hand to ever leave hers.

_Sometimes love seems so far  
Ich warte hier_

Loneliness. Her entire body was wrapped with loneliness. She stared around the unfamiliar room. Her eyes gazed up toward the unfamiliar ceiling.

"Kaworu," she whispered. "Why?"

_Your love I can't dismiss  
Ich warte hier_

She found herself lying in a different bed, next to a mattress where the boy with platinum hair was asleep. She found herself wondering about what the boy had said to her earlier. Had he really meant what he had said? Did he really love her? She shifted under the covers. She felt as if she had never been told by anyone in her entire life that they had loved her.

She shook her head, trying to dismiss that thought. That wasn't true, Harris had said it just before she had left. Harris. Her eyes widened.

_Alle Häuser sind verschneit  
Und in den Fenstern Kerzenlicht  
Dort liegen sie zu zweit  
_

She was lying in a bed, a familiar bed. Snow was slowly falling outside, the streetlight illuminating each flake as it passed by the window. Bringing the covers up to her face, she stared at Harris as he slept. Sliding an arm across his chest, she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"I love you." he whispered.

_Und ich  
Ich warte nur auf dich_

She found herself back at the beach sitting next to Harris, just like the night before she had left. Harris leaned close to her, kissing her neck gently.

"Promise me, you'll wait here for me." she whispered in his here.

"I'll wait here for you." he whispered back.

_Ich warte hier  
Don't die before I do  
Ich warte hier  
Stirb nicht vor mir_

She found herself once more on the beach, only this time she was alone. She watched as the waves crashed onto the shore. She was waiting. For what, she didn't know. She held something small in her hand, a gift, a gift for somebody precious to her. The stars were bright in the sky. She smiled as she spotted her favorite star, _their_ favorite star. Sleep was beginning to overcome her body. She closed her eyes as sleep began to wrap around her.

_I don't know who you are  
I know that you exist_

She opened her eyes again, finding herself inside of an Eva.

"Kaworu." she said.

In the Eva's right hand was the boy with platinum hair and red eyes, Kaworu. He was staring directly at her, his eyes piercing into her as though he was reading her soul.

"It is my destiny to live for eternity, though my survival will bring about the destruction of the human race. Of course, it is possible for me to be killed, and whether I live or die makes no great difference. In truth, death may be the only absolute freedom there is." he said.

_Stirb nicht  
Sometimes love seems so far_

"What are you?" she asked as she looked down at Kaworu. "Kaworu, I don't understand what you are talking about."

"This is my wish: please, destroy me. Otherwise, you will die. Only one life-form can be chosen to evade the destruction and seize the future! And you are not the existence which should die. You need the future, it is what you live for!" Kaworu replied.

She stared at the boy for what seemed an eternity, wishing desperately that she wouldn't have to do what he was asking.

_Ich warte hier  
Your love I can't dismiss_

She could feel her whole body shake as she squeezed the hand, her mouth opened wide as she tried to scream but could find no voice. As the boy died, she felt one thought scream inside her brain.

_KAWORU!_

The world once more spun around her, and she felt herself once more surrounded in darkness. Then, she felt the presence of others around her. Five beings surrounded her, each one's eyes the only thing visible about the, . As she stared at them, she realized what they were.

Without understanding how, she knew who they were, what they were called. She looked at each one, saying their names aloud as she spotted each one.

"Bardiel."

"Zeruel."

"Arael."

"Armisael."

"Tabris."

The one known as Tabris seemed to smile, its eyes a dark red that shifted as it watched her. "She has awaken." the eyes said.

The eyes of Bardiel shifted toward Tabris, as though it was agreeing with it.

"Zeruel, awaken Leliel." Tabris said.

A long protrusion shot out from under the eyes of Zeruel, slicing into Ana's stomach as she could only watch in horror. Emitting a loud scream, she watched as what should of been blood began to seep from her wound. The black mass that exited from her wound spun about the protrusion, forming a small black ball before her.

"Leliel, awaken." Tabris said.

The ball lit up in a blinding flash.

As Ana closed her eyes, a single image flashed through her mind. She and Harris were sitting once more on the beach, the stars glistening brightly above her. As they stared at the water before them, she felt Harris lean his head on her shoulder.

"I love you." he said in a near whisper.

She found herself once more in her own entry plug, inside the Evangelion she had come to grow fond of, the one she loved almost as much as Harris, and called Harris so that she could always think of him.

She felt the blood from her stomach seep into the LCL, mixing with the yellow liquid to form an almost brown colored concoction. Everything was going black. Just before she felt herself disappear inside of it, she whispered the last words she wished to say.

"I love you, Harris."

_Stirb nicht vor mir_

"Oh my God!" Deacon cried as he watched Unit 04 lean its head back and emit a loud roar from its now opened mouth. "Shut it down!"

"It's too late!" John screamed. "The S² Engine is overloading!"

They watched in horror as the Evangelion emitted a bright blue light from within it before enveloping everything in its wake.

---------------------------------------------------

"This is the last image we have of NERV-02 before its destruction." Dr. Ritsuko Akagi said as she stared at the image of the base on the screen before her. "The next image we have was five minutes after the activation of the S² Engine and the complete destruction of the base and all areas surrounding it within an 89km radius.

"I see." Commander Gendo Ikari said as he stared at the image.

"What do you suggest?"

"Nothing. Let us see how this plays out." Gendo said before turning back to the doctor.

----------------------------------------------------

The sun was beginning to set over the beach as Harris sat by himself on the small towel he had placed to keep the sand from covering his clothes. He stared at the small box in his right hand, a jewelry box. Opening it, he examined the silver ring inside of it, two small hands clutching a heart under a crown in the center of it.

It had cost him a good bit, almost half a year's salary at his two part-time jobs. Ana would be made he bought her that, but he knew how much she would love it. She was such a big fan of claddagh rings.

He smiled as he watched the sun finish setting and the stars slowly glowing in the growing darkness. Spotting her favorite star, he smiled as he watched it grow bright in the night sky. Everything was perfect.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he flicked it open to look at the time. She had said she would call him as soon as she got home, which she had guessed to be around 5.

"She's late." he muttered as he read the time, snapping the phone shut as he returned it to his pocket.

As he looked back down once more toward the ring he had bought her, he didn't notice as the star that Ana loved so much grew brighter in the sky before flickering out and disappearing into the darkness of the night.

* * *

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! It was extremely tough to write, let me tell you, but I'm happy with it. Please tell me what you thought of it, considering this is my first Neon Genesis Evangelion fanwork. I might write another one, but it won't be anytime soon. Thanks! 


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